CHATTANOOGA – The Greeneville soccer team persevered all season, but on Wednesday night in the Class AA State Tournament quarterfinals Franklin County proved to be too tall of a task to overcome and the Lady Greene Devils’ season came to an end with a 5-0 loss.
“You hate lose and you hate to concede five goals, but we probably ran into the number one or number two team in the state in the first round,” Greeneville coach Jerry Graham said. “You have to win three games to win this thing anyway, and you are going to see them sometime. It would have been nice to get a better draw, but I’m super proud of the way these girls came together this year.”
This season marked the 10th straight year the Lady Devils advanced to the state tournament and Wednesday’s loss was the first time in that run that they have not advanced to the state semifinals.
The contest started well for the Lady Devils with Greeneville controlling possession and taking the attack to the Rebelettes in the opening minutes. In the first five minutes Gabi Stayton lofted up a pair of corner kicks and free kick from 45 yards away, but Franklin County’s defense cleared them all.
Abby Adkins followed with two shots from the top of the box, but keeper Cali Alonso stopped them both.
In the 10th minute Greeneville’s back line let the ball linger on their end of the field too long and Riley Howell stole possession 30 yards from her frame. A quick pass ahead to Laura Buenrostro led to a one-on-one opportunity in front of the frame and a 1-0 lead.
Less than a minute later Gracen Baggett ran past the defense on the right side and then dropped a pass back to Baylor Russell who fired a low screamer inside the left post for quick 2-0 advantage.
From that point the Lady Devils were deflated and the Rebelettes controlled possession for much of the remainder of the half.
“We felt like maybe in the first seven minutes we were putting pressure on them,” Graham said. “We knew that transition was going to be big tonight. We knew we could get up and create opportunities, but we had to transition back. They were really fast, and we pushed up a little too high. When that happened their speed beat us.”
The lead grew to 3-0 in the 17th minute when Cali Banks made a run into the box from the left side. She stutter stepped to shake loose of her defender and sent a shot across the frame and into the right post.
Greeneville managed two shots over the final 10 minutes of the first half, but attempts from Mackenzie Castro and Adkins were off the mark.
Lady Devils’ defenders Marley VanBuskirk and Elaina Philbeck left Wednesday’s action early with injuries while center back Emma Kate Weems played through a hamstring injury. Despite that Greeneville played tough and withstood Franklin County’s dominance of possession and barrage of 22 shots.
Three minutes into the second half Banks beat the defense again with her speed and slotted in her second goal of the day for a 4-0 lead.
In the 64th minute a collision in the box on a corner kick gave Franklin County a penalty kick and Osiris Rodriguez knocked it home for a 5-0 lead.
Greeneville only managed one shot in the second half. Adkins tried to convert a corner kick from Stayton in the 67th minute, but the defense turned it away.
Greeneville keeper Lily Evatt earned four saves on Wednesday.
The Lady Devils finish the season with a 13-9 record. They had to battle through injuries and adversity while playing one of the toughest schedules in the state, and they still managed to get back to the state tournament for the 10th straight season.
“A lot of people counted us out this year, but our senior leaders set it in their mind that they were going to be back in the state tournament,” Graham said. “I’m super proud of the effort to get back here. These girls have had to persevere. The way they came together as unit and bonded through everything has made them one of the most cohesive groups I’ve had a chance to coach.”
Franklin County moves on to play Signal Mountain in the semifinals. Signal Mountain beat Gibson County 3-1 on Wednesday. In the other semifinals Tennessee High beat Brighton 8-0, and Station Camp beat Valor Prep 3-2.
